Large investors across the globe are increasingly seeking to reduce their exposure to systemic risks posed by climate change and have been regularly casting votes against boards deemed to be not acting quickly enough.
Woodside investors at Thursday’s meeting had sent a “strong message”, said Will van de Pol of activist shareholder group Market Forces: “Reduce climate pollution or there will be consequences for the board,” he said.
Investor unease at Woodside has mostly centred on whether the company is setting itself adequately ambitious decarbonisation targets, relying too heavily on buying carbon offsets rather than cutting emissions, and providing adequate disclosures about the possible risks of its plans to pump additional gas from new gas fields.
There are also doubts about whether the company is doing enough to tackle its “Scope 3” emissions – the greenhouse gases released when customers burn or process the gas it sells at power plants and factories.
Woodside chairman Richard Goyder said the company’s commitments balanced “ambition with discipline and achievability”.
Other energy giants, including European super-majors Shell and BP, have recently wound back some of their emissions and green targets.
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“We only set targets where we have identified a pathway to meet them,” Goyder said. “We will, of course, continue listening to our shareholders, who have diverse views, and take your feedback into account as we evolve our approach.”
Woodside last month gave the green light to build a $US17.5 billion ($27 billion) gas project in the United States, marking one of its biggest bets demand for traditional fuels will remain strong even as the world tackles climate change.
The company points to projections its biggest commodity, liquefied natural gas (LNG), will be needed more the coming decades for its use as a “transition” fuel that burns more cleanly than coal but can still be used to back up renewables during periods of low wind and sunlight.
Other forecasts, however, warn the role of LNG in the energy shift could be more limited, especially if countries across Asia follow through on ambitions to reduce the use of all fossil fuels in their power grids.
To drown out the whistling as protesters were escorted out of Thursday’s meeting, O’Neil frequently paused to play promotional videos, including one that highlighted gas as a critical partner for renewables
“I wish folks would have watched that video, cause it really illustrates the point we are trying to make,” she said.
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